Silent Witch

"In a certain monastery in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Ridill, in the territory of Count Kerbeck, there was a poor girl who had no relatives. The former Countess Kerbeck saw in this poor girl a glimpse of her late husband and adopted her as her own daughter. That girl grew up happily and was loved by former Countess Kerbeck, however, she fell ill and died in her old age. After losing her guardian, that girl was ostracized by the people of the Count's family to serve her daughter as a servant. And then, when the daughter was enrolled in Serendia Academy, a school for children of noble families, the pitiful girl was also sent to attend with her as her servant…

…and so, your role is to be this pitiful girl, Miss Monica."

After Louis blurted out such ridiculous background in earnest, Monica broke into a cold sweat and said in a faint voice,

"E-Excuse me, but… I couldn't even understand any of your explanation."

Honestly, to Monica, who barely understood most of it in her head, Louis with a sly smile told her this.

"If you have this kind of troublesome background, nobody would bother to delve into it. Here is the book I used as a reference for."

Behind Louis, Lynn, who was dressed in a maid's uniform, smoothly took out a book.

The author's name was Dustin Günther. He has been Nero's favorite novelist lately.

Lynn offered the book to Monica, then spoke to her in a respectful tone.

"This is a romance about a heroine who is bullied by Count's daughter, catches the attention of a prince, and eventually falls in forbidden love with him. Her insidious bullying tactics are very detailed and interesting."

At Lynn's explanation, Nero on the shelf wagged his tail with a curious look on his face.

There were several books by Dustin Günther in this cabin, but they were all old. The book in Lynn's hands, on the other hand, was his latest work. It's no wonder Nero was interested in it.

As Monica puzzled over the book, Lynn let her hold it gently.

"I will lend it to you. So feel free to use it as a reference."

What kind of reference do you want her to take?

Monica flipped through the pages of the book tentatively.

When it comes to magic books, she can read for hours, but since she was not familiar with this kind of entertainment novel, she couldn't get the contents into her head.

Flipping through the pages at random, she happened to find the scene where the heroine was crying in the shadows after her skirt was torn by a villainous daughter. The Count's daughter in the book was a very bad woman. Everything that she did was outrageous.

"Um… According to your idea, I'll be enrolled together with the daughter of Count Kerbeck, but this is…"

"Oh, don't worry! I've told Count Kerbeck the details and have asked his only daughter, Young Miss Isabelle, to help."

Monica turned her eyes away.

"Y-You even went to trouble Count of the Kerbeck Family!? W-W-With those absurd backgrounds at that!?"

At any rate, if the background Louis had in mind were to be followed, Count Kerbeck and Young Miss Isabelle would have become the bad guys.

To Monica's concern, Louis said this with a relaxed attitude.

"Does the name of Count Kerbeck ring any bells?"

"Huh? Um…"

Although Monica was quite skilled in calculating, she was not particularly good at remembering the names of people and places.

Nevertheless, the word "Count Kerbeck" stuck in Monica's memory slightly.

"Ah… at the dragon extermination…"

"That's right. The area where you defeated the black dragon of Wogan three months ago… is the Count Kerbeck territory. The Count is deeply grateful to you. He even said he was willing to help in any way he could for the sake of Lady [Silent Witch]."

Count Kerbeck was very grateful to the Silent Witch and had prepared a banquet to thank her for defeating the dragon.

However, Monica had turned it down and had come back to this cabin to escape. Therefore, Monica had never met either Count Kerbeck or his daughter.

Inwardly, Monica was scared, her decision to leave the party might have offended him, but Count Kerbeck took it as "How modest Lady Silent Witch is!"

"I have already informed Count Kerbeck and his daughter about it."

"A-Are you talking about… T-Those backgrounds, where I'm an adopted daughter of a former countess, who is ostracized by the count's family?"

"Yes, exactly. When I told him about that background, Count Kerbeck was very excited, saying, ‘Now, doesn't that sound like a ballad?'"

"H-He's excited?"

"Speaking of which, Young Miss Isabelle's eyes were shining when she said, ‘So this is the villainous daughter that has been trending these days!'"

"T-Trending?"

The novel that Louis used as a reference book was apparently very popular in the royal capital. Being one of his biggest fans, Young Miss Isabelle even went out her way to the capital in order to obtain the newest novel.

"In recent days, Young Miss Isabelle is working hard on her role as the villainess who bullies you."

"……"

"That's why you are going to infiltrate the school and work hard to protect the second prince while being bullied by Young Miss Isabelle. I mean, you're good at playing the role of the bullied girl, aren't you?"

"……"

Monica was unable to respond. It was because half of her mind had gone into unconsciousness.

In fact, the moment Louis had obtained the cooperation of Count Kerbeck, he had no intention to let Monica escape.

＊ ＊ ＊

Once Louis and Lynn withdrew from the cabin, Monica was still slumped down on the floor in a daze.

Louis had told her to pack her things because he would pick her up tomorrow at the same hour, but honestly, she had no idea where to start.

"Hey, Monica. Are you alive? Hello?"

While Monica was slumped over, Nero's paw tapped on her leg.

Under normal circumstances, Monica would be comforted by the feel of those squishy paw pads, but she didn't have time for that now.

"What should I do… this is impossible… going to the aristocrats' academy… is scary… I have to be his bodyguard at that… I can't…"

Monica used to be enrolled in a school called Minerva, which was the best educational institution for magicians.

In the past, noble families had a monopoly on the knowledge of spell casting, and even today, the majority of those who aspire to become magicians were children from noble families. Most of the time, it was the children of the second son or younger who were unable to take over the family.

Hence, children born commoners who wanted to become magicians were either used as errand boys or targeted for bullying by the noble families. And Monica was the latter.

Monica, who was very shy and always nervous and timid, was easy prey for such things.

Especially after she was able to use chantless spell, things had gone badly, with jealousy and envy mixed in. That's why Monica spent a lot of time in the laboratory of the professor who always took care of her, and devoted herself to the study of spell casting.

Monica had graduated from Minerva at the age of fifteen, but she had spent most of her final year holed up in her lab, not attending classes.

If her professor hadn't recommended her as one of the Seven Sages, she would probably still be holed up in her lab.

Well, even though she has become the Seven Sages, she's still holed up in her cabin like this.

"I can't… I can't do this… What should I do, Nero…"

"How about running away?"

At Nero's suggestion, Monica wobbled and shook her head, almost squirming.

"I-I will be… k-killed… I-If I do that…"

"You sure he's going to go that far? What was his name again? Roonroon Looweessus?"

"Nero… if you call his name like that… he would turn you into cat-soup."

Monica covered her face with her hands and hung her head down.

Louis Miller, the [Barrier Magician], was a pretty young man with quite an aristocratic demeanor, but he was also one of the most accomplished combat magicians in the country. Monica knew that underneath those white gloves there was a magnificent punching arm.

"If I run away… Louis will definitely chase me to the ends of the earth…"

"Is that guy really a human? Are you not mistaken about him being a Keeper of the Underworld rather than the Seven Sages?"

"That's how scary he is!"

Monica knew that there was no way out for her anymore. Even so, she was afraid.

While Monica sniffled, Nero wagging his tail and suggested,

"Let's look on the bright side. You're going to be the prince's bodyguard. He's the prince, you see. He must be cool, right? He must be sparkling, right? And every female human loves such a prince, right?"

"I don't know…"

"As the Seven Sages, you should have attended some kind of ceremony or something, no? Then, you must have seen the prince's face before."

Monica shook her head loosely.

Monica, who was very shy and uncomfortable in crowded places, usually kept her head down with her robe pulled over her head during the ceremony and kept her breath down until the ceremony was over. She's not even got a good look at the king's face on the throne.

"Say, Monica. I was just thinking…"

"……"

"Not knowing the face of the second prince you're guarding is rather fatal, isn't it?"

"What should I do now…"

Honestly, had she said that she didn't know what the second prince looked like, Louis Miller would probably give her a beautiful smile, shove a fist into Monica's head, and hurl all the abusive language he could think of at her.

Imagining that scene, Monica collapsed onto the floor and broke down in hollow tears.